Ottey GHENT, Belgium, CMC:
VETERAN JAMAICAN sprinter Merlene Ottey enters an astounding 24th year of competing in senior international track and field when she races at the Ghent Indoor meeting next month.
Ottey, who turns 43 years old in May, has postponed retirement again and organisers have added her to the 60-metre field for the Ghent meet on February 9.
Now competing for her adopted country Slovenia, Ottey will tackle big names Zhanna Pintussevich, the reigning 100-metre world champion of Ukraine, and European indoor and outdoor 200-metre champion Muriel Hurtis of France.
Belgium's Kim Gevaert and Marin Mayr are also listed for the event.
A knee injury forced Ottey to miss the outdoor European Athletics Championships in Munich last year after she had been cleared to compete for Slovenia.
Ottey has won a remarkable 34 medals at major championships and holds the world record for 200 metres indoors at 21.87 seconds.
She is the world's fourth fastest all-time over 60 metres indoors with a 6.96 personal best and is among the four fastest women ever in the sprints outdoors.
Her 21.64 200-metre best ranks her third in history, and she is fourth quickest all-time over 100 metres, at 10.74 seconds.
